I don't think my mechanic is giving me the full truth

It sounds like this electrical gremlin is giving your shop a challenge. Salvage vehicles can be especially tricky with compromised wiring harnesses.

 

unfortunately, when you rebuild a salvage car, there's no way of knowing what other damage may present itself in the future.
if you have been without a vehicle, you need to have a talk with him about rental costs.

i think the truth is not the problem. i just don't think he knows what the truth is. meaning, he's having difficulty tracking down the issue(s)

this is the nature of salvage, you win some, you lose some

 

OR maybe yet another case of someone who SHOULD know better overlooking a weak 12 V battery.
That is NOT a diagnosis, just an idea.

 

Actually he could be waiting on parts. My son was saying they have a dozen or so Honda's outside the dealership waiting on stuff from Asia. Nothing they can do about it but wait.

 

On top of all the above, if he has employees, some of them might have chosen to stay home and he might be overwhelmed with trying to get more done with fewer people. Or maybe he got sick himself. All kinds of reasonable explanations.

But it would be nice if he could take a few minutes to give you an update.

One other thing on the key fob. If he's specializing to some degree in the Prius, I'd think he would want to invest in the Techstream license that would let him program fobs.

 

sounds like you're getting the run around, he should give you your money back

 

Sounds like you need to get your car back and find a real Mechanic.

 

I would never buy a car that has been wrecked and repaired - much less one with a salvaged title. Even if repaired, I would get rid of it.

Having experience with aircraft repaired and certified even with the FAA as flightworthy, I am still not confident with flying in one. Repairs change the original dynamics of the original design and are more likely to fail as many investigations of accidents have revealed.

With the current crop pf modern electronics in cars, especially in the Prius, without matter of how much time is spent in troubleshooting the fault, the fault may never be found. It's been over 13 months since the Boeing 737Max has been grounded and it is still not certified as flightworthy.

The issue comes from the use of a CAN (computer area network) bus linked by 26-18 gauge wires and 5 volt micro amp switching. Just one iffy solder joint, solder whisker, a slight crimp or any change in the resistivity of the wiring will change the digital signal through the CAN bus.

Unfortunately, the OP might eventually have to resell the vehicle as salvage for parts to a wrecking yard. SORRY FOR THE BAD NEWS.

 

Your FOB is a key. Some problems are hard to solve. Sometimes solving problems is fun. He may have another shop helping him w it. It gives a wrong impression of us if we told you that we as shop owners send our customer car to another shop asking them to help. customers would jump to rash conclusions that we weren't the best shop to bring things to. Customers don't understand all the inner workings. Customers are kind of like simpletons. And cars are more complex than a customer knows. Ease up on the guy.

 

Negative. He's had the vehicle almost a month now and communication is a big issue.

 

how can you be without your car for a month?! I would be furious if I hadnt heard something after a few days, not reply to calls is totally unacceptable.